Naruto Shippuden NaruGaa Style!
by BleedingandDyingAlone
Summary: The title is self explanatory. Just some stuff I wrote during a sleepless night. Not one of my better works.


Okay. This is just a mindless peice of crap that I wrote during a sleepless night, and I know it sucks but I uploaded it anyway for some reason. It's pretty much Naruto Shippuden NaruGaa style. I love those two together! Go ahead and read or not, I don't care. You can comment or flame or criticize. I know I missed a lot of parts, but like I said, this is a crappy piece of writing that I did in the middle of a sleepless night while I was plagued by half-consciousness.

Note: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto and I don't own Naruto cos if I did, there would be shameless yaoi all over the place.

Another Note: All flames will be used to sacrifice to Jashin.

Naruto was escorted into the Sand Village. As he walked, he wondered why Tsunade had chosen to send him there. She claimed it was to give him a 'well deserved vacation,' but Naruto suspected she wanted to find a good way to temporarily get rid of him. Honestly! People these days could be so infuriating!

Naruto was ushered into the Kazekages office. He had heard that the sand village had a new Kazekage, and what surprised him even more was that the new Kazekage was Gaara.

Gaara. The sand ninja he had met quite a while ago. The one who was a jinchurikki just like himself. Naruto felt an instant bond to the lonely, slightly mentally unstable ninja. They were the same. No one saw them as they really were. All they saw was a monster that nobody wanted to remember.

As he entered, he indeed did see the redhead sitting behind his desk doing paperwork.

"Gaara! Long time no see!" Naruto greeted.

The Sand Village's Kazekage looked up from his work. His eyes fell on the blonde leaf-nin.

"Naruto," he acknowledged, nodding his head, the smallest of smiles on his face. His eyes dropped back down to his paperwork.

Naruto walked over and stopped beside Gaara. "So you're the Kazekage now, huh?" His eyes flitted briefly over the papers on Gaara's desk. "So this is what you do?" Gaara simply nodded. Naruto grinned. "You're not one for talk are you." Gaara set down his pen and looked up at Naruto.

"You must be tired after your journey. Forgive me for not giving you a place to rest. Naruto shrugged indifferently before laughing.

"Hey! What's it between friends?" he asked smiling. Gaara had to smile back. It was a soft and barely noticeable smile, but a smile nonetheless. Naruto caught sight of it. "Hey Gaara! You should smile more often! It suits you!" Gaara's smile vanished. Naruto glanced at him, a little afraid that he might have offended the redhead. "Gaara?"

The Kazekage walked out of his office, motioning for Naruto to follow him. The blonde walked after the redhead. Silently they passed throught the sand coloured halls. Naruto was amazed by the intricate work work graven into the walls. Normally, he wasn't really one for artwork, , but the carvers from Suna did one-of-a-kind work. He paused in front of a small carving that caught his eyes. Scanning his eyes over it, he gasped.

Gaara heard the footsteps behind him slow to a stop. He turned around to see Naruto staring at an image carved into the wall. Gaara heard the gasp that slipped out of Naruto's lips, and went to see what had caused it. Inspecting the wall, he felt his face heating up slightly. There in the wall was a small yet detailed carving of the leaf shinobi himself.

"Gaara, this...this is...me?" he asked. Gaara felt a tiny smile reach his lips.

"I did it myself. You were the only one who understood what I was going through. You were able to give my life a more meaningful purpose than to kill. You deserve to be honoured." Naruto flushed at the acknowledgement. Suddenly, he yawned. Gaara glanced at him before grabbing his hand and leading him to a room.

Naruto cheeks flushed as he realized Gaara was holding his hand. _Kami-sama why on earth am I blushing? It's not like I like him or anything! Well okay, maybe I like him, but I don't __**like **__like him!_

He almost knocked into Gaara as the Kazekage stopped abruptly in front of double doors. Swinging them open, Gaara led Naruto inside.

Naruto's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. He would have never even imagined any place in Suna could be this vibrant. Murals were painted onto the walls in a myriad of colours. The tiled floors were arranged in a mosaic depicting the five chakra natures, each standing out brilliantly from the background of tan. The ceiling was patterned with coloured glass in a picture of the sky, fashioned into the yin-yang symbol, half day, half night.

Sitting on one side of the circular room was an enormous bed, canopy and all. Naruto stared, awestruck.

"Is this a guest room?" was all Naruto could think of at the moment.

"No, it's mine," Gaara replied. "You see, the guest rooms in Suna are not...ideal accomodation... so you can use my room."

Naruto nodded and looked around the room. "Where do I sleep?" he asked.

Gaara glanced at him. "In the bed," he answered, fighting the urge to deadpan the sentence. Naruto tilted his head to one side.

"Then where do you sleep?" he asked. Gaara shrugged indifferently.

"Don't worry about me," Gaara replied. "I rarely sleep." Naruto was about to ask him why before he remembered.

"Shukaku," he said sympathetically. Gaara nodded. Naruto was fairly glad that although he was a jinchurikki, he did not have to be the vessel of the one-tailed Shukaku. He remembered that all of Shukaku's vessels never slept, for fear that he would eat their souls.

Naruto yawned, and Gaara turned to exit. "Get some rest. I'll call you when it's time for dinner." Naruto needed no second bidding. Stripping down to his boxers, he flung hemself onto the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Gaara turned back to Naruto and quietly walked over to him.

Looking down at the snoring leaf-nin, he smiled softly. "I'm glad Lady Tsunade sent you to me," he murmured. Leaning down, he lightly brushed his lips against the blonde's forehead. Surprised, the tips of Gaara's fingers flew to his lips. Eyes wide, Gaara exited the room, wondering what he had just done.

"Naruto, wake up"

Naruto blinked slowly as he felt his shoulders being shaken. "Naruto, wake up."

"Just a few more minutessssss..." Naruto mumbled as his eyes closed. Someone shook his shoulders again. His eyes opened to see who was disturbing him, and the sky blue orbs rested on pale turquoise. His eyes snapped open. "Gaara! Sorry!"

Gaara stared at him, expression uneadable as the leaf-nin got up and stretched before throwing on his orange and black tracksuit, and slipping into his shoes while tying on his Konoha forehead protector.

A moment later, the two ninja were walking down the halls. Gaara stopped, and slid open a door to reveal Kankuro and Temari, waiting for them by a table.

"Temari! Kankuro!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Hey! It's Naruto!" Kankuro said, a smile/smirk on his face. The blonde walked over and sat down next to him. Temari smiled.

"It's been a while, Naruto," she said. Gaara sat down next to her, directly opposite from Naruto.

Soon the meal was served. Naruto beamed at the dish set in front of him. "All right ramen!" he cheered. Temari grinned.

"Gaara had it specially made for you. We don't usually eat ramen here."

Naruto began to eat with a will. The sand siblings soon began to eat their own meals. Temari looked over at Gaara. She could see a faint hint of a smile on his lips as he watched Naruto devour his ramen. She turned to Kankuro.

"Hey Kankuro!" she whispered. The sand-nin turned to see why she had called him. "Look at Gaara." Kankuro did, and he too saw the tiniest hint of a smile on the Kazekage's face. His eyes widened.

"You don't think..." he muttered. She grinned.

"Yes I do!" Kankuro shook his head, disbelief lighting his eyes. They continued to eat in silence.

After dinner, they left for bed. Naruto yawned, and Gaara looked at him. "You're still tired?" Naruto , Gaara smiled. When they reached the bedrrom, Naruto fell on the bed. Undressing, he glanced at Gaara.

"Gaara?" the Kazekage looked at him, signalling him to go on. "Do you ever sleep? I mean I know what Shukaku does when you do sleep, but is it possible for you to sleep without danger?" Gaara pondered on the question.

"Well actually yes. When my heart gets cleared of all fear. It gives me the power to keep Shukaku under control. It rarely ever happens though." Naruto smiled at him. Gaara didn't know why, but the smile seemed to warm his heart. _Who knows? Maybe I might sleep tonight after all._

Naruto blinked awake as sunlight streamed through the ceiling windows. He looked around and his gaze fell on Gaara, sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him.

"You're awake," Gaara stated. Naruto yawned. Gaara's expression softened. Standing up, Gaara walked over to a still lying down Naruto. Before he realized what he was doing, he bent down, and placing a hand on Naruto's cheek, captured the younger ninja's lips in a kiss.

"When you're ready, meet me in my office," he murmured, walking out of the room.

"Gaara wait!" Naruto cried, but the Kazekage had already disappeared into the halls. _What was that? _he wondered, his hand on his lips.

Gaara walked to his office, mentally smacking himself on the face. _Gaara you baka! What have you done? _He sighed. What was done was done and there was no going back on it. The most he could hope for was that Naruto wouldn't hate him. Sitting down at his desk, he began his paperwork.

Thoughts about what had just happened earlier ran through Naruto's head as he washed his face. Did this mean Gaara liked him? Or was it something else? Naruto hastily threw on his clothes before running out of the room to Gaara's office.

He found the redhead talking to Kankuro. Naruto stood by the entrance, unsure of what to do. Kankuro saw him standing there and turned back to Gaara.

"IneedtogonowI'llbebacklaterhiNaruto!" Kankuro babbled dashing out the door and leaving Naruto and Gaara alone. Gaara met Naruto's eyes before dropping his gaze to the ground in shame.

Naruto ran at Gaara and leapt over his desk, knocking the Kazkekage over, chair and all. Gaara looked up at him, shocked.

"Naruto?"

Before he could say anything else, Naruto bent down and smashed their lips together in a bruising kiss. Gaara stiffened at the sudden move. Naruto was... Gaara reached up and unzipped Naruto's jacket. Naruto went to work on Gaara's vest, and as soon as it fell to the floor, he slipped off the Kazekage's coat on one shoulder.

By then, Gaara had managed to take off Naruto's jacket, revealing him in all his shirtless glory.

There was a gasp, and their eyes snapped open. Reluctantly their lips separated, and they turned to see who it was. Temari was staring wide-eyed at them. Gaara's porcelain skin was tinted a shade of pink and Naruto grinned idiotically.

"Um...Hi Temari?" Naruto offered. Her face broke into a bright smile.

"Congratulations you two!" she exclaimed happily. Naruto sighed in relief.

"So you don't mind then?" She shook her head.

"I'm all right with it as long as Gaara's happy," she told him. "But be warned. If you do anything that upsets my younger brother, I swear I'm going to mutilate you beyond recognition," she said, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Naruto jumped off Gaara and saluted her. "Yes Ma'am! I hear you loud and clear! Ma'am!" She leaned over the slightest bit and smiled, satisfied.

Naruto helped Gaara up, picking up the redhead's discarded vest. . Naruto put his own jacket back on and stole a brief kiss from Gaara.

Gaara looked at Temari. "I suppose you had other reasons to come here?" he asked. Temari nodded.

"Breakfast."

Gaara sighed. "All right. Just allow me to finish my work and I'll be there." She nodded and left. Gaara turned to Naruto. "I've wanted that for a long time now..." he murmured, pulling Naruto into a hug. Naruto smiled at him. "Naruto?" Naruto laughed softly.

"I love you too Gaara."

Gaara smiled. It wasn't one of his usual smiles. This smile radiated love affection and tenderness in a way that seemed to make Gaara's face glow and his eyes shine in happiness. This smile was all for Naruto.

Naruto traced the symbol on Gaara's forehead with one finger. Gaara closed his eyes.

"Love. I put that symbol there to signify myself as a demon that loved only itself. When I fought with you, you changed it's meaning forever. Now I have others to love. My siblings, the citizens of Suna... and you. I have you to love," Gaara murmured pressing his lips to Naruto's. Naruto took it willingly and returned it. A few seconds later, they broke apart.

"Let's go eat," he said, and Naruto nodded. His stomach rumbled in agreement and he blushed. Gaara smiled.

As they entered, as expected, Kankuro and Temari were there waiting for them. They looked up to see Gaara and Naruto walking side by side.

As they sat down in their respective spots, and soon the meal was served. Naruto grinned as an extra-large bowl of ramen was set in between Gaara and himself. He began to eat, and soon Gaara picked up his chopsticks to join him.

Gaara's face turned pink as he realized that Naruto just happened to be eating the same strand of noodles as he. Naruto realized this as well, and grinned. He began eating the ramen, all the while, getting closer to Gaara's face. Gaara realized what Naruto was doing, but was too surprised to do anything.

Soon Naruto's lips reached his, and almost automatically, Gaara's eyes closed and he kissed the blonde leaf-nin back. A few seconds later, breakfast was forgotten as the two ninja drifted off into their own little world.

Temari trailed her gaze from Kankuro to Gaara. Kankuro followed her eyes while swallowing some rice, and the sight that met his eyes almost made him choke. Temari grinned.

After a good few minutes, Naruto and Gaara broke the kiss due to need of oxygen. Gaara smiled and urged Naruto to finish breakfast. Naruto didn't need more beckoning.

When Naruto was finished, Gaara got up and helped Naruto up. Glancing at his siblings, he frowned. He knew Temari was all right with it, but Kankuro looked like he was gagging. Kankuro saw the look Gaara gave him.

"No, Gaara, I'm fine with it. I was just a little...surprised..." Gaara sighed. So both his siblings were okay with it. That was relieving.

He and Naruto walked out and headed for Gaara's office. Gaara sat down, and begn to work. Naruto sat next to him, and watched him. At about an hour later, Gaara looked up from his work to see Naruto looking at him. Naruto looked away, but Gaara caught his head and gave him a kiss.

"I think now's a good time for a break," Gaara said getting up. "Do you want to go anyplace in particular?" Naruto shrugged. Gaara led him outside, and they took a stroll down to the marketplace.

Naruto looked around, and a certain stand caught his eye. He turned to Gaara. "Wait here Gaara, I want to check out something." Before Gaara got a chance to reply, Naruto had already dashed off. Gaara sighed and smiled.

Naruto walked up to the market stand.

"How may I help you?" asked the clerk. Naruto grinned at her.

"Naw, just looking around, thanks!" She nodded at him. He looked at the merchandise that was being sold, and his eyes landed on a simple silver chain with a tag on it. He picked it up and inspected it. The clerk came up to him again.

"Would you like to buy it?" she asked him. He thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. Oh and can you also..." Naruto whispered something into her ear, blushing slightly. She smiled and nodded.

A few moments later, Naruto traipsed off to Gaara. Gaara looked at him.

"What did you do?" Naruto smiled.

"I'll show you later."

Gaara looked up at the sky. "We'd better head back. Naruto readily agreed.

Once they got back, Naruto grabbed Gaara's hand and dragged him to the bedroom. When they got there, Naruto shut the door behind them. Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out the chain and slipped it around Gaara's neck before the other even had a chance to blink.

Gaara looked down at it. "This is...for me?" Naruto smiled.

"Yep! I got it for you earlier. Check it out!" Naruto said. Gaara inspected it. On the front of the silver tag, there was the 'Ai' symbol. The same as his forehead. On the back, was the name, 'Naruto'. He smiled. Naruto blushed. "Did you read the small print?" he asked.

Gaara inspected it carefully, and found the 'small print' on the side that had Naruto's name on it. _May I and my love rest always on your heart. _Gaara felt his cheeks growing warm.

Naruto gazed at Gaara. "Gaara?" The eyes of the Kazekage seemed faraway as he began murmuring quietly, almost to himself.

"I...I've never had anyone show this...this affection towards me in my entire life...I feel so...so..." Gaara didn't know how to finish the sentence. Naruto wrapped his arms around Gaara.

"Loved?" Gaara closed his eyes in contentment.

"Loved," he agreed, resting his hands on Naruto's chest. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Gaara? You in there?" Gaara shot a glance at the door.

"Don't tell me. Lunch?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Gaara opened the door, revealing Kankuro standing behind it. As they began to walk, Kankuro smirked mischievously at Naruto.

"So... What were you two doing in there?" he asked. Naruto's eyes widened and he punched Kankuro on the shoulder.

"What I _can _say is that we were _not _doing _that_!" Kankuro gave him a look of mock innocence.

"Doing what?" he asked. Naruto glared daggers at him. Gaara looked over at the two, closed his eyes and sighed.

They found Temari waiting for them. Kankuro immediately sat down next to Temari, smirking. She rolled her eyes as Naruto and Gaara sat down side by side. A moment later, servers came, and like that morning, placed a bowl of ramen in between Gaara and Naruto.

Gaara couldn't help but think this was planned. Sighing, he dipped his chopsticks into the ramen and began to eat.

"Where did you guys go today?" asked Temari.

"The marketplace," Gaara answered. She looked at him.

"Did you get anything?" Gaara shook his head. Her gaze moved on to Naruto. "How about you?" Naruto blushed.

"Yeah." She didn't interrogate him any furthur.

Naruto and Gaara got into the 'shared noodle incident' quite a few times, much to the amusement of Gaara's siblings. They were on their eighth lip-lock due to the ramen, and both of them were starting to get in heat.

Naruto's hands drifted to Gaara's vest, and he nimbly undid it. Before it even hit the ground, Naruto had already slipped Gaara's coat off his shoulders, revealing the Kazekage in a mesh t-shirt.

By then, Gaara had already unzipped Naruto's jacket, and pushed it over his shoulders, revealing him half-naked.

Naruto knocked Gaara to the ground, his lips still on those of the sand-nin. Gaara reached up and fisted clumps of Naruto's spiky blonde hair, a moan ripping out of his throat. Gaara untied the forehead protector, and allowed it to fall to the ground. Gaara then fell back, permissing Naruto to have his way with him.

Naruto wasted no time in ripping off Gaara's mesh shirt before pulling him into his arms and orally punishing him to the most of his ability. Gaara's moans grew louder and he fell limp in Naruto's grasp as the blonde ninja pleasured him.

After a few minutes of heated kissing, they broke apart, panting heavily and staring into each other's eyes, the slightest of blushes on their faces. Their chests heaved and sweat dripped down their torsos as they gave each other a much gentler, but no less passionate kiss.

When Naruto took his arms off Gaara, the Kazekage fell into his lap and lay there gazing up at him, the heat of the kiss having debilitated him. Naruto cradled him gently, bending down to give him another (_much_ gentler) kiss.

"Wow..." They turned to see Temari, who looked like she had gone into shock, and Kankuro whose eyes were tightly shut, and whose hands were covering his ears. He opened one eye. Then he opened the other and took his hands off his ears.

"All right. Luchtime's over. You two are going. Before you get serious in here." Gaara's face flushed and Naruto picked him up and ran him to the bedroom in record-breaking time.

Gently setting Gaara down on the bed, Naruto climbed onto him. Before he could do anything else, Gaara leaned upwards, capturing Naruto's lips in a soft kiss. The kiss was gentle and tender, and Naruto simply chose to melt into it. Gaara wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist, pulling him down.

Naruto's hand drifted down until it reached a certain spot. He began to rub it in a quick pace. Gaara's head fell back onto the pillow and he moaned loudly.

"Ngh...Naruto..." Naruto's hand sped up its motions, and he leaned down and nipped Gaara's neck lightly, revealing a bright red mark on the flawless skin of the other. Gaara's moans grew louder. Naruto felt his own, as well as Gaara's member harden.

Quickly, he tore of the remaining articles of clothing on both of them before setting down to work on Gaara. He pressed their lips together in a searing kiss that left both of them panting. The glistening sheen of sweat hung visibly on both of their bodies. Gaara stared into those sky blue eyes of Naruto's that he had learned to love more and more with each passing moment.

"Naruto...I keep forgetting to tell you..." he murmured quietly. "That...that you're beautiful...more than the swirling desert sand...more than the serene stars in the heavens...more than anything I've ever witnessed in my entire life...you're beautiful..."

Naruto felt tears budding in his eyes at the tone of voice Gaara had used to say that. It was so...beautiful and yet so...pained... Gaara smiled softly up at Naruto.

"Why are you crying, my orange blossom?" Naruto felt slender fingers reach up to swipe his tears away. He smiled.

"I'm...I'm happy...I was luckier than you because I had people to care about me...but I never knew what it was like to be...loved..." Gaara made an affectionate noise and reached up to kiss Naruto's forehead. Naruto hugged him.

"And if you think I'm all that," he added. "Then all I can say is that you're more beautiful than anything that ever existed, and anything that ever will exist. You're Gaara. You're _my _Gaara, and you are a being made in heaven. Your eyes are sunlit waters, your skin is pearl, and your voice is sweeter than a harp."

Gaara smiled. Naruto kissed him lightly before moving down. Gaara gasped as Naruto's mouth encircled his throbbing member. The blonde began to swirl his tongue around it, causing a loud moan to emit from Gaara's lips. Naruto's head bobbed up and down at A rapid pace, as Gaara's moans grew louder.

Naruto sucked in sharply, and Gaara couldn't hold it in any longer. With a sound in between a moan and a gasp he released his seed into Naruto's mouth. Naruto promptly swallowed it. Naruto traced the kanji on Gaara's forehead.

"You ready?" he asked. Gaara nodded. Naruto positioned himself. "I won't lie to you. It will hurt at first." Gaara looked at him.

"I know."

Naruto decided to just do it quickly and save Gaara a lot of pain. He thrusted in. Gaara gasped in pain as his virgin entrance was intruded by Naruto's member. Naruto waited until the redhead relaxed before pulling out. Then he thrusted back in, earning a muted shriek from Gaara. As he waited for Gaara to relax, he leaned forward and softly kissed Gaara.

"Sh...it's all right. The worst of it should be over now..." he murmured into the Kazekages ear. Gaara's expression soon relaxed, giving Naruto the 'go'. Naruto began moving in and out in a quick pace. Gaara's expression soon turned from a pained one to one of bliss.

"Ah...N..Naruto!" Gaara moaned, not restricting his volume any longer. The sweet sound filled Naruto's ears, urging him to go faster. He did so, and soon he hit Gaara's prostate head on.

Gaara was enjoying the pleasure Naruto was administering to him, when he felt something in him being hit. He threw his head back as an exeptionally loud scream tore itself from his throat before he could stop himself. Naruto stopped, wondering if he had hurt the other. Gaara was panting.

"Naruto! Right there! Again!" Naruto began again, hitting Gaara's prostate each time. Gaara didn't even try and stop himself as screams ripped from his lips. He felt close. Naruto rammed into him extra hard, hitting him straight on. Gaara's lips parted in what had to be the loudest scream of his life.

"_**NARUTO!**_" He released his seed onto his and Naruto's chests. His muscles clenched together spasmodically causing Naruto to release inside him with a gasp.

Naruto pulled out and fell alongside him, exhausted. Gaara turned to him and captured his lips passionately. Naruto returned it, wrapping his arms around Gaara. They were silent for a while before Gaara drew in a sharp breath.

"Naruto? Thank you," he murmured. Naruto looked at him questioningly. "Thank you. All I wanted was to...well... be wanted by someone else. You complete me Naruto." Naruto blushed. Gaara continued. "Remember what I told you about sleep yesterday?" Naruto nodded. Gaara smiled. "I can sleep because I no longer fear. I feel...safe... with you. Thank you." He closed his eyes.

Naruto was about to reply, but he realized Gaara was already asleep. Brushing his lips against Gaara's forehead, he smiled. Soon, he too drifted off into the land of dreams.

"Lady Temari, are you sur-"

"Yes I'm sure," Temari interrupted, exasperated. "Gaara's fine."

"But he wa-"

"Yes I know. He doesn't scream often, but trust me, he's perfectly fine." Temari interrupted again. She dismissed the flustered ninja, and turned to Kankuro rolling her eyes.

"He so owes me for this," she muttered. Kankuro nodded.

"Yeah. But seriously! Who knew he could scream so loud! Naruto's good! It sounded like murder in there!" Temari grinned.

"I'll go drop these by," she said, picking up the discarded clothing that Naruto and Gaara had left behind. Kankuro nodded.

Temari walked over to Gaara's room and unlocked it. She entered the room and dropped the clothes in surprise. Gaara was curled up with Naruto, but that wasn't surprising. What had surprised her, was the fact that the Kazekage was _asleep._

She shook her head and exited the room, locking the door. "Gaara, you never cease to amaze me," she muttered.

Naruto woke up to find Gaara still sleeping. Naruto smiled. Gaara's face looked different when he was asleep. He looked so...peaceful. Naruo brushed his lips against Gaara's before getting up and stretching.

As he went to take a shower, he blushed, remembering the events of the previous day. He remembered Gaara's words, and that expression he had never seen before.

He got out of the shower and dried off, tying the towel around his waist.

When he entered back into the bedroom, he could see Gaara was awake. Gaara met his eyes and smiled.

"Good morning Naruto," he greeted, walking over to give the leaf-nin a kiss. Naruto broke it to allow Gaara to go wash off. Soon Gaara returned with a towel tied around his waist. Sitting down next to Naruto, they shared a real kiss. A few minutes later, they broke off for need of air.

Naruto quickly put on his clothes, and cast a sheepish glance at Gaara's mesh-shirt which had actually torn in places. Gaara followed his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he said opening a drawer and grabbing a new one. Donning his own clothing, he smiled at Naruto. "It's almost breakfast."

Naruto grinned. "Hopefully it won't be like lunch yesterday." Gaara's skin heated up around his face. Naruto laughed and grasped his hand. Gaara smiled faintly as they walked out of the nothing to do, Gaara and Naruto sat in the Kazekage's office staring into each other's eyes and exchanging the occasional kiss. They were interrupted by a widely grinning Temari who called them for breakfast.

They sat down, Naruto next to Gaara, and Temari next to Kankuro. Naruto and Gaara were faced with the grinning faces of Gaara's siblings. They blushed when they heard Kankuro's comment.

"You guys are _loud_! Temari had her hands full trying to convince the guard ninja that you weren't murdering each other!" Temari slapped the back of his head. He glared at her. "What was that for?" he asked indignantly. She rolled her eyes.

Breakfast was served, and a bowl of ramen was placed between Naruto and Gaara. Both ninja dug in without hesitation. Soon, as expected, they were caught in another lip-lock. Temari smiled.

"You two must have been exhausted after all that," she told them. "You were asleep for the rest of the day." Naruto blushed.

Soon after breakfast was over, Gaara headed back to his office, Naruto following in his wake. They were met by Baki.

"Lord Kazekage!"

Gaara sat down at his desk, and Naruto stood by the entrance, unsure of what to do. Baki turned to him.

"I think you should hear this as well," he said. Naruto walked over. Baki turned back to Gaara. "Lord Kazekage, the Akatsuki are on the move," he said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"The Akatsuki?"

"Yes. A pair was seen travelling in this direction." Gaara's lips were set into a frown.

"Sasori-danna, do you think they saw us, un?" asked a different blonde, about half a days journey away from the Hidden Sand Village.

The short figure replied without stopping. "Whether they saw us or not doesn't matter to me as long as the job gets done, Deidara."

"Which tailed beast are we looking for again, un?"

"Thw one-tailed Shukaku."

"There isn't much we can do but raise the guard and stay on our watch," Gaara said. Baki sighed.

"I was afraid of that. I'll arrange guards on all corners of the village and have the patrols do rounds at dawn and dusk." Gaara nodded his assent. Baki looked like he was about to ask a question, but decided against it and left. Naruto looked at Gaara.

"They must be looking for you, Gaara. The chances that they know I'm here are pretty slim." Gaara sighed.

"They may be looking for me, but what they really want is Shukaku inside of me." Naruto's expression angled and he wrapped his arms arouns Gaara.

"Well they can't take you! I won't let them!" Gaara smiled, stroking the silver tag that hung over his chest. Closing his eyes, he replied.

"But I will always carry you and your love on my heart, Naruto." Naruto grinned.

"I love you too, Gaara," he whispered.

A moment later, a brown haired girl appeared at the entrance. Naruto and Gaara extracted themselves from each other and not a moment too soon.

"Lord Gaara! I heard the Akatsuki are coming and-"

"And that's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Matsuri." She looked about to argue, but he dismissed her. Naruto grinned at him.

"It's obvious she likes you," he told the redhead. Gaara smirked.

"Well too bad for her then, because I _love _you!"

The rest of the morning passed eventfully and the two ninja were getting bored. Naruto's head snapped up when he heard someone walk up to them.

Looking up at Kankuro he asked, "Is it lunch yet?" Kankuro nodded. Naruto took Gaara's hand and helped him up, a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Hey Gaara!" he whispered. "Let's make up for all that boredom by giving your sibs another show!" Gaara smirked.

When they reached the room, Temari was sitting there waiting for them. She looked up and smiled.

"All right you two. To make sure we don't have a replay of yesterday, the menu's changed." As she spoke, the servers set down plate after plate of food on the table, creating a buffet. She smiled at the two. "Take whatever you want." Gaara and Naruto shared a smirk.

"If you don't mind us," Gaara began, taking off his vest and coat.

"It's kinda hot in here," Naruto finished, taking off his jacket.

The shinobi, one in a mesh tt-shirt, the other half-naked, began to eat.

"Hey Gaara!" Naruto called. "You have to try this!" he said, offering Gaara a piece of some random dish with his chopsticks. Gaara ate it. He exchanged a look with Naruto before carefully placing a morsel of something else in his mouth.

Naruto took this as a 'go' and smashed his lips onto Gaara's. Gaara drew back, and opened his mouth, deliberately levering the morsel on his tongue into Naruto's mouth. Naruto swallowed it before taking the sand-nin into his arms.

Pressing their lips together, he tilted his head slightly, and slipped his tongue into Gaara's mouth. Gaara led the slippery organ into a dance with his own. Eventually, Gaara allowed Naruto to dominate him, moaning softly as Naruto was paying special attention to his sensitive spots.

A few minutes later, they broke apart, and Gaara began to feed Naruto, causing the blonde to mouth-feed him whatever he was given. After a few minutes of that, Gaara stopped feeding Naruto.

"You know, there's something else I want a taste of," he rasped, stroking Naruto's hair. Without warning, he knocked Naruto to the ground straddling his hips and bending over with a predatory glint in his eye as he loudly whispered, "You."

Snapping his mouth open, he bit down on Naruto's skin right above his collarbone, causing the blonde to moan.

"Ah! G-Gaara!"

Gaara saw that the love bite he had given Naruto had begun to bleed. Gaara licked the wound clean, pressing more quiet moans out of Naruto's lips.

"All right you two. Stop it!" They looked up to see Temari, who looked like she was trying to staunch a nosebleed. "Lunch is over. Now go!" Naruto and Gaara slipped their clothing back on with small smirks on their faces.

Gaara grabbed Naruto's hand, and this time, instead of heading for his office, he took him outside. Rushing along the streets, he stopped in front of a small building.

As they entered it, Naruto could see that this was a jewellry shop. Gaara let go of Naruto's hand as the store clerk ran up to them.

"Lord Kazekage! To what to I owe the honour of your visit?" His face not giving away anything, Gaara answered.

"I want to buy an engagement ring for my fiancé." Naruto almost gawped at him, but caught himself at the last moment before adding, "And I do too!" The lady smiled at them.

"We have a selection of rings that you can take a look at," the lady told them, opening a large cabinet. In the cabinet were various types of rings, none of them too fancy or too plain. The boys began looking at the selection for rings that were, unknown to the clerk, for each other.

Naruto passed over ring after ring. None of them seemed to suit Gaara at all. Most of them were too flashy. He knew the Kazekage wouldn't like wearing anything overly decorated. Suddenly, he landed on one.

The ring was a silver half centimetre tall band with the kanji 'love' engraved on it then inlaid with ruby. It practically seemed to be made for Gaara. He picked it up to inspect it furthur.

Meanwhile, Gaara was having an even more difficult time trying to find one for Naruto. Each one his eyes landed on didn't suit the leaf-shinobi any bit. Gaara's eyes rested on the edge of the cabinet in frustration. There, he saw a simple silver band that had a blue gemstone in the center of it. Wire was wrapped around it in a intricate pattern. The colour of the jewel was the same colour as those blue eyes that Gaara had grown to love so much. That settled it.

"I would like to get this one," Naruto said, handing the store clerk the ring. Gaara walked up to them.

"And I would like to get this one."

The store clerk packaged the rings for them and they handed her the money. As soon as the two shinobi were outside, they rushed back and locked themselves in Gaara's bedroom. Naruto looked at Gaara.

You know, when I first heard that, I wasn't so sure. It seemed like we were rushing it. But now I definitely know that this was arranged by fate, and not even Neji can argue with that." Gaara smiled.

Pulling out the small box, he opened it, and taking Naruto's left hand , slipped the ring onto his ring finger. Naruto did the same with Gaara.

Naruto glanced at the ring Gaara gave him and groaned. "Gaara! Chrysoberyl is so expensive! Couldn't you have gotten something cheaper?" Gaara shook his head.

"Definitely not. I knew it's expensive, but I also knew who I was getting it for. That made it all worth it. And besides, it reminds me of your beautiful eyes." Gaara inspected his own ring. "Ruby? Where on reath did you get money for that?"

Naruto shrugged. Gaara smiled and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Okay you two. Number one. No 'shows' at the table. Number two. You guys are hiding something. What is it?" Temari demanded.

Gaara and Naruto were hiding their left hands from view. They weren't sure if they should share it or not. Naruto placed his (right) hand on Gaara's lap.

"We're not sure if we should tell you guys yet," he said. Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll have to find out sooner or later!" Gaara sighed and Turned to Naruto.

"Maybe we should tell them and get it over with." Naruto shrugged.

"If you're all right with it, then I am too."

Taking Gaara's right hand in his, their fingers intertwined as they joined their lips together in a tender kiss.

"Y-you two are..." Kankuro stammered. Temari's eyes widened considerably.

"Engaged?" she finished. Gaara smiled his special smile at Naruto, and Naruto hugged him tightly. His eyes still closed, Naruto voiced his fear.

"So you don't approve," he said. Temari's face broke into a smile.

"What do you mean? We were just a little shocked. We're perfectly fine with it. In fact, congratulations are in order." Kankuro was still a little shocked but he voiced the first thing that came to mind.

"When's the wedding?" Temari smacked the back of his head. He glared at her.

"Of all the things..." she murmured. "You two never cease to amaze me." Gaara looked at her.

"So you're fine with it?" he asked. Temari smiled.

"Of course! We're more than fine with it," Temari reassured. "You two must be one of the happiest couples in the world." Naruto grinned.

"On that, you're right," he said, pulling Gaara into another kiss.

Dinner passed uneventfully with the occasional kiss (since 'shows' have been banned) here and there.

After dinner, Gaara went back to his office as opposed to the bedroom. Naruto followed him. Gaara sat down and looked at Naruto.

"You really should get some rest, Naruto," he said. Naruto shook his head defiantly.

"No way! Especially not with the Akatsuki around!" Gaara could see that he wouldn't be able to change the blonde's mind, so he sighed and let him stay. Naruto walked over and wrapped his arms around Gaara.

Gaara smiled. Despite the blonde's words, he had fallen sound asleep. Gaara stared out the window. He could see a strange figure outside. Frowning, he extricated himself from Naruto's grasp, and ran up to the roof.

When he got there, he could see the figure, who was a blonde sitting on a large bird, flying towards him, then stopping a little ways off. The blonde smirked.

"Well if it isn't the jinchurikki from the Hidden Sand. A pleasure to meet you, un!" Gaara didn't ike him already. (I mean honestly! If a random girl comes up to you and says she's pleased to meet you, but actually turns out to be a guy, wouldn't you be kinda creeped?)

Raising his arms, sand flew out of his gourd in the intruder's direction. The blonde quickly evaded it, but Gaara's arm swept to one side and his sand began to pursue him.

Naruto awoke to the fact that Gaara was no longer there. He glanced out the window, and saw Gaara standing on a rooftop attacking a figure that sat on some strange kind of bird. He watch Gaara, mesmerized. The movements of his arms were so graceful, it made it seem as if the Kazekage was dancing.

He was snapped out of his dreamy-eyed expression when moonlight caught on the cloak of the other figure. Naruto drew in a sharp breath.

"The Akatsuki!"

The blonde stopped well away from Gaara, his infuriating (slightly girlish XD) smirk fixed on the Kazekage of the Sand.

"How did you know I was an intruder, un?" Gaara glared at him.

"There are no birds like that in the desert," Gaara told him.

Stretching out a line of sand, he jumped onto it.

Naruto ran through the halls looking for Kankuro and Temari. He skidded to a stop in front of a door, and knocked on it frantically. He heard lazy footsteps, and soon, the door opened, revealing Kankuro.

"Naruto? What do you want?" he asked, a little irritated, as he was repairing and polishing up his puppets.

"Gaara's outside, and he's fighting a member of the Akatsuki!" Kankuro dashed out the door almost immediately. He stopped in front of another door, and without bothering to knock, opened it. Temari looked up, annoyed.

"What is it?" she asked. Naruto repeated his earlier sentence. She jumped up and ran out of the room. "Go keep an eye on Gaara!" she yelled at them. "I alerting Baki!"

Naruto watched her go. He was shaken back into the present by Kankuro.

"You heard her! Let's go!" Naruto nodded and they both ran out of the building.

Naruto gazed at the sky, watching the duel turned aerial between Gaara and the Akatsuki member. His blood boiled as he saw Gaara take a particularly hard blow. He turned to Kankuro.

"We can't just stand here! We have to do something!" He was about to leap after them, but Kankuro grabbed his arm, halting him.

"No. We can't let the Akatsuki member know that we have you in the village as well." Naruto glared at him.

"Forget about me! We have to help _Gaara_!" Kankuro's grip tightened.

"I'm not doing this for your sake," he said. "I'm doing it for Gaara. If you went up there and got injured, he would never forgive himself." Naruto sunk to the ground staring at the sky in angry helplessness.

Pretty much the whole village was up now watching the duel between the to. Baki had formed backup, but couldn't use it, for fear of getting in Gaara's way.

"It's seems like bombs are his main weapon," Kankuro muttered.

Suddenly, a large of molded clay went hurtling towards the village.

Gaara's eyes widened. He couldn't let him destroy the village! The mound of clay was so close to impact...

Naruto opened his eyes to find a large amount of sand covering the village. Baki smirked.

"He shielded us just in time. I would expect nothing less from the Kazekage."

Gaara sighed in relief. He heard the blonde snicker.

Naruto didn't know what was going on up there, but he was beginning to suspect something wasn't right.

Gaara's eyes widened as clay beetles emerged from his sand shield. He saw the blonde raise two fingers up, and immediately, the beetles detonated.

The watchers below gasped in horror as half of Gaara's shield exploded. Kankuro looked up, shocked. "He...he disabled Gaara's defence!" he exclaimed.

Gaara could feel himself slowly losing consciousness. _No! I can't let all that sand drop onto the village! _he thought. The Kazekage moved his hands with some degree of difficulty. He could see the sand slowly moving away from the village. Deidara smirked.

"Ah. I see. I'd expect no less from the Kazekage. Even though it would be far easier to simply drop the sand on the village, un."

Gaara refused to give in that easily, battling furiously for consciousness until the sand was away from the village. Unable to hold out any longer, his eyes closed as he fell unconscious, and began to drop from the sky.

"Gaara!" Naruto cried. He jumped onto the roof of a building in a vain attempt to reach the Kazkekage. The longhaired blonde flew down and caught Gaara before Naruto had a chance to. "No!"

Naruto couldn't do much else but watch as Baki ordered the archers to fire. The Akatsuki member evaded them easily

"Gaara!" Naruto screamed. He was about to chase after him, but Temari jumped onto the roof and pinned his arms behind his back. Naruto struggled in Temari's grip as she dragged him to ground level. "Let go of me! They're taking Gaara away!"

Temari hit a certain point at the base of his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious. She sighed.

"I'm sorry Naruto."

Kankuro ran to the entrance of the village. "I'm going after them!" he called to Baki. The sand-nin's ex-teacher grabbed him.

"No you're not. You won't stand a chance against them!" Kankuro broke out of Baki's grip.

"I am! You can send a rescue unit after me if you want, but I'm going!" he said. Baki sighed, knowing that this argument was completely pointless and Kankuro would go despite whatever he said. He quickly formed a group. Before dismissing them, he looked at Kankuro.

"_Do not _go in head to head combat against them." Kankuro looked ahead.

"I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that," he said, dashing off, the rescue team following him. That was when the hidden paper bombs detonated.

"Huh. Sounds like they fell for your trap Sasori-danna!" Sasori continued to walk.

"Of course they did. That's why it's called a _trap, _Deidara."

Sand ninja dug through the rabble. While they did so, Kankuro jumped out, carrying two unconscious ninja with him. The sand-nin set the unconscious bodies on the ground  
These are the only two I managed to save. The rest are..." he stopped. "But I'm still going after them," he said, running off.

Temari dragged Naruto to an infirmary bed, and set him down on it. Bandaging his head, she looked down at him sadly.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but we can't allow you to go alone." She looked up as Baki walked into the infirmary.

"We can't let the other villages know that our leader is gone," he said. Temari looked at him blankly.

"But we have to find some way to let Naruto go search for Gaara. If we don't, he'll go anyways, and who knows what will hapen if he goes alone!" she argued. "Can't we call on the alliance?" she asked.

"I don't want to do it, but it seems like our only option," he muttered dejectedly, as he walked out of the room.

Casting a last glance at Naruto, Temari too exited the room.

Naruto woke up the night of the next day.

"Owww..." he complained. "Where'd the brick come from?" He remembered the events of the previous night, and immediately jumped out of the bed, running out the entrance of the infirmary. Without getting very far, he collapsed dizzily.

"Naruto!" Temari hissed when she saw him. "What do you think you're doing?" Naruto stared unhappily up at her.

"Gaara..." he murmured. Temari sighed, leading him back to the bed.

"Lie down!" she ordered. "I hit you harder than I thought I did!" Naruto obeyed, gazing dispiritedly at his opened her mouth to talk, but was cut off by medical-nins who rushed into the room, laying a body on another bed. Temari ran over to them.

"Kankuro!"

Naruto didn't bother trying to pay attention to whatever was going on. He was too busy thinking about Gaara. _Gaara where are you? _he silently asked, staring blankly ahead of him.

The next day, Baki entered the infirmary with an old woman and man. Naruto wondered who the two were. The jounin led the elderly pair to Kankuro. The lady glanced at Kankuro before looking at the medical-ninja.

"Have you tried anything?" she asked.

"Everything," one of the ninja replied. "But nothing's working."

Naruto saw the old lady examine Kankuro. She sighed.

"Sasori, you've outdone yourself this time." Baki looked at her.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I can't do anything, but there is one person who might be able to do something." Baki looked at her questioningly as she continued. "That slug Tsunade from the Leaf. The only one more skilled than I when it comes to poisons. I remember the days back then. Whatever they threw at her, she found a way to cure."

"But we can't just ask for her to come over! She's the Hokage now." The old lady glared at him.

"I never suggested such a thing!" she snapped.

"We asked the alliance for assistance. They are sending a squad with a medical-ninja. Perhaps they may be able to do something." The old lady looked back at Kankuro.

"Ugh. Having to rely on the Leaf. How embarrassing!" she turned to Baki. "Anyways, he'll be lucky if he even survives until tomorrow."

Naruto covered his ears. He didn't want to listen any longer.

Around late morning of Naruto's third painful day without Gaara, he heard footsteps coming to the infirmary. He looked up to see Kakashi and Sakura enter the infirmary. He was both happy and relieved that they had come. Kankuro's loud groans of pain were getting to his head.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sakura!"

"Why hello, Naruto!" Kakashi greeted.

Sakura ran over to Kankuro flashing a brief smile in his direction. Glancing at the medical-ninja, she silently asked for permission to examine Kankuro. As soom as they nodded, she wasted no time in giving him a thorough examination. A few minutes later she looked up.

"The poison used is one that paralyzes the muscle tissue, and once it reaches the heart...well..." Sakura didn't finish her sentence, but all present knew what was being said. The medical-ninja looked at each other in surprise.

"She was able to figure out all that..."

"...In just one look?" Sakura glanced at them.

"We don't have much time. I need to purge his body from as much poison as possible to give me more time to make the antidote." They nodded. She turned to everyone else.

"If you don't mind, can you all please leave the room?" They consented.

She began to extract the poison from his body and he screamed in pain, writhing half-consciously on the bed.

"Hold him down!" Sakura ordered. The medical-nins did.

The old lady narrowed her eyes at Sakura.

"She reminds me of that slug Tsunade," she muttered under her breath.

Naruto sat outside next to Kakashi, unaware of what was going on. They had to search for Gaara immediately!

Naruto stepped in with baited breath. After all this time, he would finally see Gaara again. Stroking his ring, which thankfully no one had noticed, his eyes landed on a sight that infuriated him. The two Akatsuki were there waiting for them, and the blonde, the one that had taken Gaara, was sitting on the Kazekages body.

"_Hey! What do you think you're sitting on?_" Naruto screamed. Deidara looked from Gaara to Naruto smirking.

"Who, him?" he asked pointing to Gaara. "You know, you're too late. He's been dead for a while no-"

"_SHUT UP AND GIVE GAARA BACK!_" Naruto screamed. Deidara snickered.

"First to butt in and first to bark. You must be the jinchurikki Itachi was telling us about." Naruto's eyes were transposing from blue to red-orange. Sasori turned to Deidara.

"You take the jinchurikki. I'll take the rest," he said. Deidara nodded. He leapt onto the back of one of his clay birds as it scooped Gaara up with it's beak. He flew out, Naruto in his wake screaming, "_Hey! Where do you think you're going?_"

Kakashi sighed turning to Sakura, and the elderly lady, (Lady Chiyo) he said, "I'll follow Naruto. Can you two take this one?" he asked. They nodded and he ran off in pursuit of Naruto.

Soon, between the two of them, they managed to retrieve Gaara, and with the help of Team Gai, defeated Deidara. They were met with Sakura and Lady Chiyo, who had killed Sasori.

They brought Gaara to a field and laid him there. Naruto silently asked if she could try to do something. She nodded, and went over to Gaara, kneeling beside him. All was silent as she worked her medical ninjutsu on him. I few minutes later, she got up, eyes downcast, and slowly shook her head.

Naruto felt his heart sinking. _No! He can't be dead!_ Holding his right hand with his left, he stroked his ring as tears budded in the corners of his vision. He ran up to Gaara, and fell to his knees beside the still Kazekage.

Lifting the redhead's right hand, we watched as his tears fell onto the ring he had given Gaara.

Getting up and turning around slowly, his eyes met with the rest. Lady Chiyo opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could, Naruto snapped.

"_Shut the hell up! Don't say anything!"_ He yelled as tears began to flow freely down his face. "_Why do you always have to pick on us jinchurikki?" _he asked angrily. "_You have no right to seal monsters inside of us just because you feel like it! Because of what you did, we were rejected...shunned!...by everyone! And it always happens to Gaara! I was one of the lucky ones. I had people who cared about me...But Gaara! Gaara had no one! When you sealed the Shukaku inside Gaara, did you ask him how he felt about it? No! You think you can control our lives like this?"_ Naruto fell to his knees from exhaustion after his outburst.

Lady Chiyo watched him silently for a few seconds before walking over and kneeling beside Gaara. Naruto was about to jump at her, but Sakura held him back. When he turned to look at her, she shook her head.

Sakura stared at Lady Chiyo. "This jutsu... Lady Chiyo!"

Lady Chiyo turned her head to Sakura and smiled. After a few more minutes, Naruto heard Lady Chiyo's shaky voice.

"Not enough chakra...dammit..." Naruto ran forward to Gaara's other side, and placed his hands atop of hers, newfound determination in his eyes.

"Take my chakra," he told her. "Take as much as you need." She looked at him, and nodded. As she continued, she sighed.

"All my life, what I've been doing was wrong," she murmured. "Maybe in this...my final hour...I can finally do something right." Naruto looked at her.

"I feel like I should tell you this," he whispered. "I got so angry because...well...Gaara. You see, he's far more than a friend to me," he finished, looking at his hands. Lady Chiyo say the ring and smiled. She understood.

A few more minutes later, she looked back at Naruto.

"Naruto..." she rasped. "Take care...of...Gaara..." she breathed out before falling back, looking for all the world like she was asleep. Sakura caught her.

Naruto looked down at Gaara, tears beginning to flow freely down his face again.

"Gaara..." he said in a whisper that only he could her. "Come back to me...I love you..."

By then, half the Sand Village was there. A moment later, in the midst of dead silence, Gaara's eyes snapped open. His gaze fell on Naruto who was leaning over him, eyes closed and crying. His heart broke at the sight of his leaf ninja like this.

Unaware of all the other ninja present, he weakly lifted his right hand and laid it on Naruto's. Naruto opened his eyes, surprised.

"Why are you crying, my orange blossom? I'm here," he murmured, earning himself quite a few lookes of shock from the surrounding ninja. Naruto's face broke into a soft, tender, loving smile as he gazed down at Gaara, eyes red from crying and tears still trickling down his cheeks.

Gaara's right hand moved to Naruto's cheek, and he brought the blonde's face down to his, joining their lips together, still unaware of all but Naruto.

After they broke apart, not even Naruto cared about how many people saw them. Reaching down, he stroked the redhead's cheek. Leaning down, he whispered, "Gaara, please don't hold it against me, but I don't want this to ever happen again. I want to secure our bond. Will you marry me?"

Gaara smiled and pulled him into another kiss. After they broke apart, Gaara whispered, "Yes." Naruto hugged him tightly.

When they let go of each other, Gaara regained his full awareness, and saw the many shocked faces of the present shinobi and kunoichi, (Excluding Temari and Kankuro) staring at them. Naruto helped him up, and allowed the redhead to lean on him. Gaara looked at Lady Chiyo. He could tell she had passed on.

"Let us all say a prayer for Lady Chiyo," he said. All present bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

After, Kankuro and Temari walked up to Gaara and Naruto.

"Well?" Temari asked. Gaara knew her question. In reply, he nodded. She smiled. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed. Kankuro gave them a knowing look.

"So you're finally tying the knot now huh," he said. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah." Kankuro grinned back.

"Well it was about time," he replied.

As they began the trek to Sunagakure, Naruto's friends chatted with them to the point of annoyance.

"So you two are together?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded. Neji let loose a tiny smile.

"It's easy to see you two were destined for each other," he said. Naruto grinned and stuck his tongue playfully out at the Hyuga.

"Oh you and your fate and destiny!"

"Congratulations you two!" Kakashi called. "I was wondering what that ring was doing on Naruto's finger!" Naruto blushed. So someone had noticed after all.

"Congratulations on your youthful entry into the Springtime of Youth!" Gai and Lee chorused. Naruto sweatdropped.

"You two make a nice pair," Tenten commented. Gaara's lips flicked up in the briefest of smiles.

As they neared the village, Gaara could see that all it's inhabitants were waiting for them. As he walked into the village, Naruto supporting him as he was still weak, they all cheered. Gaara held up a hand for silence.

As they quieted down, he allowed the ninja carrying Lady Chiyo's body to step forward.

"Let us all have a minute of silence for Lady Chiyo," he called. There was, as ordered, a minute of silence.

They held a funeral for Lady Chiyo, but as soon as the funeral was over, Naruto and the sand siblings began making plans for the wedding.

The next day, the sand siblings escorted the leaf ninja to the edge of the village. They exchanged goodbyes.

"See you soon!" Temari said. "And don't forget to deliver the invitation to Lady Tsunade!" Sakura nodded.

"Don't worry, we won't. Goodbye for now!" replied Sakura, who gave Naruto, (who had decided to stay with Gaara) a quick hug.

Naruto watched them go. Stealing a swift kiss from Gaara, he smiled.

"Boy I wish I could see the reactions on their faces when my friends get the invitation," he said wistfully.

Team Gai, and two thirds of Team Kakashi were reporting to Tsunade. She listened carefully to their report.

"I see..." she muttered. "Where's Naruto?" The ninja standing before her smiled as Sakura handed Tsunade a note that was hastily scribbled down by Naruto.

_Hey Grandma Tsunade!_

_I'm staying in the Sand Village for important reasons. You'll find out what they are in the scroll given to Sakura._

_-Naruto-_

"Well? Where's the scroll?" she asked. Sakura handed it to her and she opened it.

_You are cordially invited to attend and witness the union of Lord Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage, and Uzumaki Naruto._

_The event will take place in Sunagakure on the fifth day of the next week._

_Invited are the following:_

_Lady Tsunade, Godaime Hokage_

_Shizune_

_Jiraiya_

_Hatake Kakashi_

_Haruno Sakura_

_Might Gai_

_Rock Lee_

_Hyuga Neji_

_Tenten_

_Sarutobi Asuma_

_Nara Shikamaru_

_Akimichi Choji_

_Yamanaka Ino_

_Yuhi Kurenai_

_Hyuga Hinata_

_Aburame Shino_

_Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru_

Eyes wide, Tsunade handed the scroll to Shizune. Shizune scanned her eyes over it and gasped.

"N-N-Naruto is..." The Hokage looked at Sakura, and the kunoichi smiled.

"Yes, Milady," she confirmed. Tsunade smiled.

"I don't know whether I should be happy, angry, or proud," she said. "Team Gai and Team Kakashi. You are all on a break. Send Team Asuma and Team Kurenai to my office immediately. Do not tell them the reason. Now go!" Tsunade ordered.

"Yes Milady!" they replied enthusiastically. Once they had exited, Tsunade turned to Shizune.

"Who knew a simple ruse to get that knuckledhead from under my skin could turn into marriage!" Shizune smiled.

"I'm happy for Naruto, but from what I heard in the report, I pity him for all he had to go through."

"All right. Neji, Tenten, you go get Team Kurenai. Lee and I will find Team Asuma. Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, get some rest of I'll tell Lady Tsunade to stop you from going to the wedding," Sakura ordered. They nodded in agreement.

Sakura and Lee headed to Shikamaru's house, and as expected, they found the Nara playing shogi with his ex-teacher.

"Shikamaru! Asuma-sensei!" Sakura called. They turned to her.

"You called?"

"Lady Tsunade wants you to go to her office!" They ran off before either of the two shogi players could reply.

They entered into the Yamanaka family's flower shop, and there they found Ino and Choji.

"Or perhaps orchids? They'd light up your house nicely and your mom would appreciate them," Ino told a thoroughly uninterested Choji.

"Eh, I don't really care. A flower's just a flower to me," Choji replied, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

"Ino Choji!" Lee called. "Lady Tsunade wants you at her office!" Ino stood up straight.

"All right! Why?" Sakura grinned.

"Lady Tsunade wants to tell you herself."

Neji and Tenten found Team Kurenai at their training grounds.

"Kurenai-sensei! Shino! Hinata! Kiba!" Tenten called. They stopped and looked at her.

"Lady Tsunade wants you to see her at her office," Neji announced.

Team Kurenai left for the Godaime's office without a question.

Team Kurenai met Team Asuma in Tsunade's office. They were waiting to hear what their Hokage had to tell them.

Tsunade opened her mouth, but then abruptly snapped it shut and turned to the window.

"All right. Get in here. I know you're out there, and this is for you as well."

Team Kurenai and Team Asuma were joined by a sheepish Jiraiya. Tsunade turned to the nine nija in front of her.

"Now. I recieved very interesting news from Sunagakure. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I heard it." Taking the scroll from her desk, she lobbed it over to Jiraiya, who caught it. "Have a look."

The sannin read through it and his jaw dropped as he handed it to Kurenai. Asuma leaned over to read it, and the two jonins' eyes widened considerably. Asuma took the scroll and tossed it to Shikamaru.

Ino and Choji leaned in to see the contents of the scroll as Shikamaru opened it. What they read made Choji choke on his chips, Shikamaru drop the scroll, and Ino squeal excitedly.

Shikamaru picked up the scroll and passed it to Shino, who opened it in full view of his two teammates, Kiba and Hinata. Kiba began stuttering almost incoherently. Nobody could see the look on Shino's face since most of it was covered, but they saw his grip on the scroll tighten. Poor Hinata had fainted.

Tsunade looked at them hiding a smile. "Well? It's an invitation, so it's you're choice whether you go or not."

Jiraiya, being the first to recover from shock answered.

"Well I hope I speak for everyone here when I say it'd be an honour to go." Everyone else nodded in agreement. (Except Hinata 'cos she's currently unconscious) Tsunade smiled.

"So be it. From now on, you are all on break. Relax, prepare, pack... Do whatever you need to do," she said, sounding more excited than they had ever heard her before.

"They saluted, and left the room, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Shikamaru sighed.

"Weddings are too troublesome," he complained. Ino elbowed him.

"Oh shut it Mister Troublesome! We can all see you want to go as much as we do!" A tiny smile creeped onto Shikamaru's face.

"All right. You got me there," he admitted.

Team Kurenai had managed to revive Hinata.

"You are coming with us to the wedding, right Hinata?" asked Kiba. The Hyuga's face broke into a bright smile.

"O-of course!" she stammered. Kiba looked at her a little strangely. She caught his expression. "Why are you l-looking at me?" she asked.

"Well, I'd think you'd be upset or something. We all know you like Naruto," Kiba replied. She blushed.

"Y-yeah I do. B-but if he's happy with someone else, then I can be happy for him, as long as he's happy," she said.

"I'm happy for them..." Kurenai said. "But aren't they a bit young?" Asuma laughed.

"In due time, the heart leads you. I'm pretty sure that's what happened with them. After all, the heart _can _lead you to unexpected places."

Soon after they left the building, they were met by Team Gai (minus Gai) and Sakura.

"Okay. Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Jiraiya, you guys can leave if you want to. We're here to talk about the jobs assigned to us from Naruto and Gaara." Sakura said.

"Oh and no saying it's too troublesome, Shikamaru," Tenten added. "Naruto's like one of your best friends!"

The adults left the group as Neji began to explain what they would each be doing.

"All right. According to the arrangements given to us by Naruto and the sand siblings...Ino?" The blonde nodded. "You're in charge of bringing and arranging the flowers. Bring as many as you think are needed, and whichever you want."

"Got it!" she said. Neji turned to Kiba.

"Good...Kiba? You and Akamaru are going to be ushers." Kiba mock-groaned at his fate. Neji turned to Shino. "Shino, how's your voice?" he asked. Shino looked at him.

"Fine."

"Good. You are to...sing..." Neji said. Shino gave him a terse nod.

"What am I to be...singing?..." he asked.

"Do you know _You raise me up_?" Shino gave him another terse nod. Neji's gaze moved on to Hinata. "Do _you _know that song?" he asked. She nodded. "Naruto asked me to ask you if you could play your harp to accompany Shino. He also said you can say no if you want." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Oh! I...I don't know...Playing in front of...of all those people!" Neji looked at her.

"It's for Naruto." Taking a deep breath, Hinata's gaze hardened with determination.

"All right. I'll do it," she said. Neji glanced at Shikamaru. Shikamaru held up his hand, so Neji wouldn't say anything.

"Don't tell me. Naruto wants me to be his best guy or whatever it's called and he wants me to say some sort of speech at the reception?" Shikamaru asked. Neji nodded, his face betraying his surprise.

"Yes. May I ask how you knew?" Shikamaru smirked.

"He told me about three years ago. He said that if he ever had a wedding, I would be his best man because I was one of his closest friends. Of course I said it was too troublesome, but I guess I have to do it," Shikamaru sighed.

"Okay..." Neji turned to Choji. "Choji, you're going to be the cameraman." The Akimichi shrugged.

"Sure."

"All right. Tenten and Sakura. You two know what you're doing, right?" They nodded.

"Design, decorations, and cake!" the two kunoichi chorused. Neji nodded in confirmaton.

"And lastly but not least, Lee, you are to right one of your migraine-inducing poems and recite it at the reception." Lee saluted, obviously not catching the insult in Neji's words.. Kiba leaned over to Shikamaru.

"Naruto must've hit his head when he was thinking about what Lee should do," he whispered. Shikamaru snickered.

"There is a dress code," Neji said. "As you all are probably aware of, formal attire, please." They nodded. Ino looked at Neji, curiously.

"What are you going to be doing?"

"He wants me to oversee things and make sure it goes smoothly," he replied.

In the next few days, the travelling group met at the gates of Konoha. Neji checked on everyone to make sure that they had all that was needed before they left.

"Everyone! Formal attire?"

"Check!"

"Ino! Flowers?"

"Check!"

"Hinata! Harp?"

"Ch-check..."

"Choji! Camera?"

"Check!"

"Tenten! Sakura!"

"Check!" they cried before he could say anything else.

"Shikamaru! Speech?

"-sigh- Check."

"Lee! Poem?"

"Check!"

"Looks like you have everything under control, Neji. Good job!" Gai said, flashing Neji a grin and a thumbs up.

"Now we'd best get going. Since you guys are apparently helping with the preparations, the earlier we get there, the better," Tsunade said.

They nodded and began their trip.

About three days later, they made it to the Sand Village. As they entered in, one of the guard ninja escorted them to the Kazekage's office,where they found Gaara lying on his back on the floor in his Kazekage robes with Naruto on top of him, and the two were having an extreme make-out session.

Everyone present, (except Jiraiya) blushed, and Hinata fainted from embarrassment.

"Oh my..." Shizune murmured.

The guard ninja cleard his throat, to get their attention.

Naruto pulled away from Gaara's lips and both of them turned to see the Konoha ninja and the Sand shinobi watching them. Gaara dismissed the Sand-nin as Naruto jumped off him.

"Grandma Tsunade! Hey you guys made it! For the first time in her life, Tsunade didn't know what to say.

"So you _do _know how to kiss properly after all," Jiraiya commented. Naruto's face turned red and Sakura glared at Jiraiya.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto yelled. Gaara grabbed his arm and gave him a quick kiss before the blonde could say anything else. Breaking it about a second later, Gaara turned to the leaf-ninja.

"We are honoured you could make it," he told them, reaching to shake hands with Tsunade. The Godaime Hokage looked at the ring on Gaara's finger.

"We're honoured to be here," she replied. "I never knew Naruto had such a good sense of style," she added, looking pointedly at his ring. "I mean he's the only shinobi I know that wears that much orange." Gaara smiled softly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. He's my beautiful orange blossom," Gaara told her, voicing his nickname for Naruto without hesitation. He looked at the ninja behind Tsunade. "Please. Allow me to show you to your rooms," he said, leading them through the halls.

While they were walking, Shino walked up to Naruto.

"Naruto, why would you want _me_ to _sing _of all things?" he asked. Naruto looked at him in surprise, as if he's expect Shino to already know.

"It's because you're a great singer. Your voice is amazing Shino! Oh and before you ask, yes I've heard you sing." Shino sighed.

"Fine. But you owe me one," he said. Naruto grinned.

Naruto swallowed nervously as he slipped on his orange suit. Yes orange! The seamstresses originally wanted his suit to be the traditional black and white, but Gaara insisted that it be orange.

The suit was not completely orange as it was trimmed with black. He wore it with a black shirt, and a blue tie. Finally, he tied his Konoha forehead protector onto his forehead and stepped out the door. He smiled as he remembered telling the seamstresses that Gaara's suit had to be burgundy. Burgundy looked good on the redhead.

He breathed in and out nervously as he stepped out. They were holding the wedding at an oasis since all the churches in Sunagakure were too small to accomodate all their guests. Sakura, Ino and Tenten didn't allow him to see the design layout, and he wasn't allowed to see Gaara for the past three days.

Kakashi eyed Naruto as the genin stepped out. "Orange. Why am I not surprised?" Naruto smiled at his shoes.

"Gaara picked it out," he said happily.

Kakashi too was in a suit, but he still wore his mask, and his forehead protector still covered his sharigan. His visible eye curved into an upside-down 'u'.

"You _really _love him, don't you," Kakashi said. Normally, Naruto would have turned red and yell that he didn't, but but this time, he smiled and fingered his ring.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah, I do."

Gaara breathed in and out slowly as he put on his burgundy suit. He smiled. He would have never thought it possible for him to take part in this special event, but the same person who changed his life had proved him wrong.

His outfit was composed of his burgundy suit with black trim, and a white shirt. He had refused a tie, and instead wore around his nek the silver chain that Naruto had given him.

He stepped out of the door to be faced with his grinning siblings.

"Well little brother, your special day has come," Temari announced.

"And remember. Stay appropriate while kissing in public," Kankuro teased. Temari smacked the back of his head.

They walked out of the village to the chosen oasis. He marvelled at the work done by the three kunoichi from the Leaf. It was very traditional, but not underdecorated.

Reed mats were set in rows separated by numerous flowers (courtesy of Ino) in various colours that were aranged in a way that complimented the scene nicely. The rows were then separated into two halves, creating a makeshift aisle down the middle.

The girls had somehow managed to create five small waterfalls out of the sandy crags at the oasis (ninjutsu no doubt) and had shone light into the waterfalls, making small rainbows visible. This gave the scene a pleasantly surreal look.

In the very front at the end of the aisle, sat a small table on which was set two gleaming sharpened kunai. Naruto had flatly refused to wear more jewellry than the ring, so they had come up with a (slightly painful) compromise.

Has he neared the oasis, he was met by Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba and (quickly and not very neatly) thrown on his suit, and even Akamaru was wering a black bowtie around his neck. Kiba grinned at them, and led them to the front, where the three kunoichi and Team Gai were sitting.

"Lord Gaara!" Tenten called as she looked at him. The ninja from Team Gai was wearing a simple white and pink shift dress. He smiled nervously. His eyes landed on Hinata, who was in a flowing lilac dress with long wide sleeves. The raven haired girl looked more nervous than he felt. His eyes drifted to her harp.

"Isn't that heavy?" he asked, pointing to the large instrument. She smiled nervously and fiddled with the strings.

"N-no...It...it only looks heavy..." she squeaked.

While waiting for Naruto, he toyed with his ring. Kiba led him to a spot where he could watch without being seen. Soon the citizens of Suna arrived and took their seats. Shikamaru arrived when almost all the seats were full, looking surprisingly neat, although his hair was still messy and in it's trademark ponytail.

Gaara walked to the beginning of the aisle to wait by Shikamaru. The rest of the Konoha ninja arrived and took their seats up front. Gaara was starting to get a little worried. Everyone was there except for Naruto and Kakashi.

Seeing them walking up to the oasis, Gaara let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding all that time. Naruto went to stand by him, and Kakashi, sat himself at the front.

"Sorry we're late," he said, a smile in his voice. Naruto rolled his eyes.

Looking at each other, wordlessly, they joined hands and walked down the aisle to the front, Shikamaru trailing behind them. They kneeled down side by side on one end of the table, facing...Tsunade? Gaara had told Naruto he had already chosen who would be doing this, but he never told him who it was.

Tsunade looked from Naruto's surprised face to Gaara's nervous one. All was silent, save the artificial waterfalls. She took a breath.

"Uzumaki Naruto, and Lord Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage, have you come here out of your own decision and of your own free will?" she asked. Gaara's face soon lost it's nervous expression to a smile.

"I, Lord Sabaku no Gaara, Godaime Kazekage, have come here out of my own free decision, and of my own free will," he answered calmly. Tsunade's eyes drifted to Naruto.

"Naruto, being Naruto, the ninja lacking all means of formality, gave out an audible, "_Duh!_" Gaara's smile widened slightly, and he could hear muffled laughter behind them. Naruto sure knew how to ease a stiff mood. Tsunade nodded to Gaara, and he took a deep breath, his heartbeat speeding up considerably.

"Uzumaki Naruto, for the rest of my life, I vow to always stand by your side, to face all our problems together, to love you with all of my being, to share with you your joys and your sorrows, and to always carry you and your love on my heart," Gaara finished, quoting from his chain.

Naruto got nervous. He completely forgot to write down and memorize his vows. He bit his bottom lip, thinking of something to say on the spot.

"Gaara, for the rest of my entire existence, which frankly would be meaningless without you, I promise to always be there when you need someone to lean on or turn to, to love you always no matter the cost, to catch you when you fall, or break your fall, and to always share my ramen with you," he blurted out, grinning idiotically

Shikamaru got a nod from Tsunade, so stepping forward, he picked up the two kunai, and presented them to Naruto and Gaara.

The two shinobi stood up, took one kunai, and sliced open their right hands, from the base of their ring fingers to the top of their wrists. Joining the bleeding imbs together, they intertwined fingers.

Tsunade pulled out a ivory ribbon that had the kanji 'love' embroidered onto it multiple times with red thread. Wrapping it around their joined right hands, she tied a knot, securing it together. Taking their hands, she held it up so that the wedding guests could see.

"Lord Sabaku no Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto. I declare you together with my blessing, bound to each other with your own blood. What was once two is now one. I proclaim you unified!"

Naruto and Gaara leaned in pressing their lips together in a kiss. Naruto felt Gaara's grip on his hand tighten, and he tightened his own grip as a single tear of joy slipped out of his closed eyelids. They held it for minutes amidst loud cheers and applause.

They broke apart a while later, and went to sit down. As they sat down, Shino and Hinata went and stood on the water in the oasis. Shino was wearing a dark green suit with a brown tie. Naruto saw that he had put on a pair of shades to cover his eyes. Naruto wondered why he even insisted on covering parts of his face all the time anyways.

Hinata played a little introduction to the song before Shino began to sing.

Pretty much no one, save Naruto, had heard Shino sing before. Naruto was right though. The Aburame's voice was astonishing. Alluring even. Especially for those who had gotten used to Shino speaking only in his monotone. Shino had a crystal clear tenor that rang out solidly and trembled slightly on the exact lyrics that it should.

"I am strong, when I am on you shoulders..."

Naruto's face broke into a gentle smile as he felt Gaara's grip on his hand tighten considerably.

"You raise me up, to more than I can be..." Shino paused and allowed Hinata to do a little solo of her own before repeating the last line.

"You raise me up, to more than I, can be," Shino held the last note a few moments longer before letting it go as Hinata's string sustained a little longer.

Shino and Hinata walked back to dry land, and sat back down in their respective spots amidst thunderous applause.

Naruto was happy that all the formal stuff was over. It was nice, but a bit too mushy for his taste. As the wedding guests got dismissed from their seats, Naruto looked at the ribbon, still tied around his and Gaara's bleeding hands.

"Hey Gaara, can we take this off now?" he asked. Gaara looked at it.

"Yes. I guess we should."

Before they could do anything, Shikamaru dragged them both to the waterside. Nimbly untying the ribbon, he handed it to Gaara, as he began to wash Naruto's hand. Naruto stood there awkwardly.

"Erm... Shikamaru? Do you have to do this? I mean we're perfectly capable of doing it ourselves!" Shikamaru answered him without looking up.

"As your best man, it is my duty to do it," he informed the blonde. Naruto sighed.

"Fine."

Soon after, Sakura, and the chefs from Suna, dragged all the food out into the desert, (since no building in Suna could fit all the guests) and served out the dishes to tables. Gaara had made it a point to serve ramen, althought this was a wedding, all because he knew the blonde idolized it.

The Konoha ninja and and the sand siblings sat together at a table set out for them. Naruto began to devour his ramen while Temari turned to Shino.

"For someone so deadly in battle, your voice could put the birds to shame!" she complimented. Shino nodded in thanks. Kankuro was watching Naruto

"Hey Naruto, didn't you say you would always share your ramen with Gaara?" Without giving the orange-clad ninja a chance to respond, Gaara stroked Naruto's opposite cheek with his hand, turning the blonde's face to his.

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "I'll get my share eventually," he finished, reaching out with his tongue and licking Naruto's soup-stained lips. Naruto's face turned red.

"It is time to recite the poem now is it not?" asked Lee. Naruto's eyes widened and he whispered frantically into Neji's ear. A moment later, Lee was lying by Tenten, unconscious, with Neji standing over him. Tenten and Gai looked at Neji, shocked expressions on their faces.

"What an unyouthful act of violence!" Gai exclaimed, and would have gone on about it if Asuma hadn't slapped a hand over his mouth.

"What was that for?" she asked. Neji's face almost curled into a smile.

"Actually, according to Naruto, the poem was just to give Lee something to do. He said that if Lee started talking, knock him out." Tenten grinned and shook her head.

"Married you may be, but you still hold on to your childish jokes don't you Naruto," she said. Shikamaru sighed and stood up. He walked over to the front and began his speech.

"All right. So apparently I'm supposed to be doing a speech of some sort, and I really wish I didn't because writing speeches is too troublesome. That gotten over with, I'd like to say that I'm doing this because Naruto requested it of me, and he's like one of my best friends. Okay... I wasn't expecting this event at all, and I would have never in my life expected it, but I'm perfectly all right with it, and even happy for Naruto and Lord Gaara. Naruto can be quite hotheaded, but he's a really good friend, and to all his friends, it doesn't matter how long you've known him. He would protect you with his life." Pausing, he looked at Gaara. "Lord Gaara, what I can take from that, is that Naruto would die a thousand times over, without hesitation, for you and you _alone._ Finding true love in such a short time is extremely rare, , but it's quite easy to see that you two have a bond that goes far deeper than marriage. You two are soul-partners. Now all I have left to say is Congratulations, and if it comes as any help, you have my blessing as well."

As Shikamaru walked back to the table, he could be heard muttering, "That was too troublesome."

Tsunade was next up. She walked over to the front and stood there, ready to begin.

"-ahem- I would like to formally congratulate my number one pain in the neck for successfully shocking the life out of me by sending me a wedding invitation," she began, pausing due to the general laughter. "Honestly though," she continued. "When I sent Naruto to Sunagakure, I had never imagined that it would..._could, _turn into something like this. I have to say, no matter how many times we've argued, or how many times I've gotten annoyed with Naruto, I can't help but feel proud and happy that this is what he has grown into. Congratulations," she said, walking back to the table.

Temari stepped up to replace her.

"Okay. First allow me to express how exasperated I am because my younger brother got to tie the knot before I did!" she paused, shooting Gaara a mock scowl. "But I'm actually happy to see how far he has come. I've also seen the big turnaround that happened in his life when he first met Naruto. It wasn't exactly love at first sight. In fact, it was more of hatred and hostility at first sight! Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected this. All I can say is, Naruto, You've reached Gaara in a way none of us would have thought possible. Thank you Naruto. Thank you for making Gaara happy." She sat down to be replaced by Sakura.

"All right! I want to say that this event means a lot to me, because Naruto is like a brother to me although we aren't related. No matter how annoying he is, he's still a wonderful friend. Lord Gaara? I have to agree with Shikamaru. Naruto always does what he can to save us no matter the cost, so I can only imagine what he would do for you. I don't have much else to say but to congratulate you on this bold step." She left the front and sat down, looking expectantly at Naruto.

"Is it my turn?" he asked. She nodded. Naruto got up and gave Gaara a small kiss before walking to the front.

"Actually, I didn't prepare anything to say, so I guess I'll just have to improvise," Naruto said, grinning at the crowd. His grin soon disappeared to be replaced with a serious expression and voice as he began.

"Actually, the first time we met and I learned that he was a jinchurikki, I felt an instant bond to Gaara. Of course, it was a much milder one than the one we have now, but it was still a bond. When I found out that he had been alone for basically all his life, there was this desperate need to reach out to him. When I was sent to Sunagakure, these feelings only grew stronger. When I found out that he felt the same way, it was as if I had nothing in life to worry about anymore. I didn't have to be afraid of expressing how I felt about him anymore. When we got engaged, we both knew that it wasn't a rash leap in a _seemingly _real relationship. It was something a lot deeper. When I had to stand helplessly watching Gaara fight a member of the Akatsuki, you cannot imagine the despair I felt because I was powerless to do anything. Kami-sama it felt so much worse when I was too late to save him!" Naruto's voice took on an uncharacteristic tremble. "He...he died, and it was all I could do to not take a kunai to myself and join him. Man...really...my heart actually felt like it was breaking that day. It felt so much worse than any injury I've ever had to suffer. When Gaara was brought back to life, I knew in my heart what I wanted to do, and that it was the right thing to do," Naruto finished in an out of character tone.

As he walked back to Gaara, he could see signs of crying (or trying not to) on quite a few faces. He sat down and Gaara gave him a kiss on the forehead before standing up to take his place.

"I too didn't prepare anything for this because I wanted to speak the words directly from my heart. Before I met Naruto, I was known by all as a monster because of Shukaku sealed inside of me. I even began to believe that it was what I was. That's why I carved the kanji 'love' into my forhead. To signify that I was a demon who loved only itself. My life became that of a killer. My meaning was to love myself, and myself alone and protect myself, and myself alone, and I killed others for it. When I fought against Naruto, I could see him giving his all to protect his teammates. I was confused by this as I didn't understand why he would give his life for the sake of others. It only got more shocking when I found out that he was a jinchurikki. He was so like me...and yet...he wasn't. I remember his last words to me at that battle. He told me that if I harmed his friends, he would kill me. This changed my life completely. Instead of becoming more of an outcast than I already was, I strove for acceptance. My goal was to attain the position of Kazekage. After that, I felt...affection...towards him. I was happy when I heard that Tsunade was sending him over. Maybe then I could express my thanks. However, these feelings soon grew deeper and stronger. When he returned my feelings, I felt the happiest I've felt in my entire life till then. When he and I got engaged, the meaning behind it ran deeper than our words could express. What I can say is, when the Akatsuki had me, they were extracting the Shukaku from me. As a result...well...I died. When I was brought back to life, the first and only thing I saw was my beautiful orange blossom crying over me. My heart ached seeing him like , I knew that I never again wanted to see a single tear of sadness or pain ever course down his face again. When he asked the question, all I could say...all I _would _say was yes. To some, this might be a foolish underaged short-lasting relationship, but to us, it's more than that. _Far _more than that." Gaara finished.

The reception lasted until late evening, and as everyone else left, Gaara and Naruto stayed behind to watch the sunset. Naruto was unusually quiet. Gaara noticed this and took the blonde's hand.

"Naruto, something's bothering you." Naruto smiled sadly at Gaara.

"Well, it's just that I'm a Konoha shinobi, so I'll have to go back to my own village. But at the same time... I don't want to leave you..." Gaara smiled.

"I know. I wish you could stay longer, and when you leave, I'll miss you badly, but your loyalties lie with your own village. You'd best go." He could see dejection in the eyes of his blonde. "Don't worry. I promise I'll visit when I can. I'll write as well," Gaara told him. Naruto frowned, unsatisfied. He then sighed and smiled.

"All right. But I'll miss you." Gaara hugged him.

"I'll miss you too." Gaara and Naruto didn't say anything else, as the sun slipped over the horizon. They went back to Sunagakure, and quickly undressed before going to sleep.

Naruto cuddled up against Gaara, and hugged him, falling asleep with his arms around Gaara's torso. Gaara smiled and brushed his lips against Naruto's forehead.

As the Konoha ninja and the sand siblings stood at the edge of the Sand Village, they waited patiently as Naruto and Gaara shared a long passionate kiss.

The two ninja were locked in a tight embrace that neither of them wanted to let go of. They unwillingly separated a few minutes later, and gazed into each other's eyes.

"Come visit soon," Naruto said, grasping Gaara's hands tightly in his. Gaara smiled at him and nodded.

"I will." Naruto hugged him tightly, once more.

"I love you Gaara," he murmured. The redhead returned the embrace.

"I love you too, Naruto," he murmured back.

Separating, Naruto walked over to join the travelling group as the began to walk away. Naruto looked back at the watching sand siblings. He waved. He could see the three of them wave back. He turned around, and along with the rest of the group, dashed off.

There. You regret reading that? I'm too lazy to correct the typos and stuff. So yeah. It's kinda left hanging though. Maybe I'll add another part to it. What do you think?


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